Gotenica (pronounced [ɡɔtɛˈniːtsa]; in older sources also Gotnica,[2][3] German: Göttenitz,[4][5]: 4  Gottscheerish: Gənize or In dr Gənizn[6]) is a settlement in the Municipality of Kočevje in southern Slovenia.

[7] Gotenica is located in a clearing surrounded by wooded plateaus and hills: the Gotenica Mountains (Goteniška gora) to the west, with nearby Gotenica Mount Snežnik (Goteniški Snežnik, 1,290 meters or 4,230 feet) as its highest peak, the Big Mountains (Velika gora) chain to the north rising to 1,254 meters (4,114 ft), and the Stojna Ridge to the east rising to 1,072 meters (3,517 ft).

The name is believed to be related to the toponym Gotenc, both based on the personal name *Goten, in turn derived from *Gotъ.

Other Slovenian toponyms presumably based on this name are Gotna vas (a suburb of Novo Mesto), Gotovlje, and Goče.

[5]: 60 Gotenica had two churches, a chapel, and a cemetery, all registered as cultural heritage today, that were destroyed by Slovenia's communist government after the Second World War.